3,251 research outputs found

    Measuring the impact of the Capital Card®, a novel form of contingency management, on substance misuse treatment outcomes:A retrospective evaluation

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    Background The Capital Card, developed by WDP, is a digital innovation which acts as a form of contingency management, and aims to significantly improve service user outcomes. WDP is a substance misuse treatment provider commissioned by local authorities across the UK to support service users and their families affected by addiction. The Capital Card, much like commercial loyalty cards, uses a simple earn-spend points system which incentivises and rewards service users for engaging with services e.g. by attending key work sessions, Blood Borne Virus appointments or group-work sessions. The Spend activities available to service users are designed to improve overall wellbeing and build social and recovery capital, and include activities such as educational classes, fitness classes, driving lessons, and cinema tickets. Methods and findings We compared successful completion rates of 1,545 service users accessing one of WDP’s London based community services over a two-year period; before and after the Capital Card was introduced. Client demographics (age, sex and primary substance) were controlled for during the analysis. Once client demographics were controlled for, analysis showed that clients with a Capital Card were 1.5 times more likely to successfully complete treatment than those who had not had the Capital Card (OR = 1.507, 95% CI = 1.194 to 1.902). Conclusions The results of this initial evaluation are of particular interest to commissioners and policy makers as it indicates that the Capital Card can be used effectively as a form of contingency management to enhance recovery outcomes for service users engaging in community-based substance misuse services

    Retranslating Rousset : English-language mediations of L’Univers concentrationnaire

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    This article approaches the translation of concentration camp testimony through the optic of secondary witnessing in order to consider how translation, as an act of listening, might impact the preservation and transmission of the survivors’ account. A case study on the initial translation and retranslation of David Rousset’s L’Univers concentrationnaire in English will serve as the basis for exploring how the translators have attended to the survivor’s representation of the camps. It will also scrutinize paratextual material and translation reviews as a means of retracing some of the socio-cultural conditions of production of the two target texts, paying particular attention to how Rousset has been understood and received

    Coverage Properties Of Optimized Confidence Intervals For Proportions

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    Wardell (1997) provided a method for constructing confidence intervals on a proportion that modifies the Clopper-Pearson (1934) interval by allowing for the upper and lower binomial tail probabilities to be set in a way that minimizes the interval width. This article investigates the coverage properties of these optimized intervals. It is found that the optimized intervals fail to provide coverage at or above the nominal rate over some portions of the binomial parameter space but may be useful as an approximate method

    Vascular Function Intervention Trial in sickle cell disease (V-FIT): Trial Protocol

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    This protocol outlines procedures for capturing participant information as part of the V-FIT study. The protocol should not be used as a guide for the treatment of other participants; every care was taken in its drafting, but corrections or amendments may be necessary. This trial adheres to the principles outlined in the International Conference on Harmonisation Good Clinical Practice (ICH GCP) guidelines, protocol and all applicable local regulations

    Sequential simulation used as a novel educational tool aimed at healthcare managers: a patient-centred approach

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    Background: A new challenge for healthcare managers is to improve the patient experience. Simulation is often used for clinical assessment and rarely for those operating outside of direct clinical care. Sequential simulation (SqS) is a form of simulation that re-creates care pathways, widening its potential use. Local problem Numbers, outcome measures and system profiling are used to inform healthcare decisions. However, none of these captures the personal subtleties of a patient’s experience. Intervention 56 students attended a teaching module using SqS and facilitated workshops as part of their induction week on an MSc International Health Management course. The workshop was voluntary and was offered as an opportunity for the students to gain an insight into the UK health system through the medium of simulation. Methods: An evaluation survey incorporating quantitative and qualitative student feedback was conducted. Descriptive statistics were generated from the quantitative data, and thematic analysis was undertaken for the qualitative data. Results: There was strong agreement for the acceptability of the workshop approach in relation to the aims and objectives. Likert scale (1–-5) mean total=4.49. Participants responded enthusiastically (revealed through the qualitative data) with ideas related to perspectives sharing, understanding healthcare management and processes and the consideration of feasibility and practicalities. They also suggested other applications that SqS could be used for. Conclusion: The SqS approach has demonstrated that simulation has a wider potential than for clinical assessment alone. Further studies are required to determine its potential uses and affordances beyond its current format

    Health policy for sickle cell disease in Africa: experience from Tanzania on interventions to reduce under-five mortality.

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    Tanzania has made considerable progress towards reducing childhood mortality, achieving a 57% decrease between 1980 and 2011. This epidemiological transition will cause a reduction in the contribution of infectious diseases to childhood mortality and increase in contribution from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Haemoglobinopathies are amongst the most common childhood NCDs, with sickle cell disease (SCD) being the commonest haemoglobinopathy in Africa. In Tanzania, 10,313 children with SCD under 5 years of age (U5) are estimated to die every year, contributing an estimated 7% of overall deaths in U5 children. Key policies that governments in Africa are able to implement would reduce mortality in SCD, focusing on newborn screening and comprehensive SCD care programmes. Such programmes would ensure that interventions such as prevention of infections using penicillin plus prompt diagnosis and treatment of complications are provided to all individuals with SCD
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